The idea of the latest WGN America series Almost Paradise came up for Dean Devlin about 14 years ago during his Hawaiian honeymoon. He interacted and was fascinated by island culture, social justice and spirituality on the social — and decided to create a show set in Hawaii. His soulful connection to the life of the island made sense in that he is of Filipino descent. With that in mind the show's premise changed.

“As the years went on and I kept thinking about it, there was something there that wasn’t authentic to me,” Devlin told Deadline. “It was only a couple of years ago that the idea came to do it in the Philippines and then it changed everything. Then I got really excited about the project.”

Devlin is known for working on series such as The Librarians and Leverage and blockbuster features like Independence Day. It’s no surprise that he has found a career in Hollywood; his mother was an actress who appeared on the original Star Trek — the only Filipino actress to appear in the series (as far as we know). That said, Devlin is making history on his own as he created the first American TV show entirely shot in the Philippines.

The series stars Christian Kane — who Devlin previously worked with on The Librarians — as Alex Walker, a former DEA agent forced into early retirement. After going through obstacles including betrayal and health problems, he decides to uproot to Cebu in the Philippines. But it isn’t long before he is pulled into the dangerous world of the Asian archipelago’s criminal elite.

⇒ Almost Paradise - Season 1 - Episode 1

⇒ Almost Paradise - Season 1 (Complete Episode)